The brown morph of the Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) in flight on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic
The Red-footed Booby (Sula s. sula) is a large seabird of the Sulidae family. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings. They are found widely in the tropics, and breed colonially in coastal regions, especially islands. This species breeds on islands in most tropical oceans. When not breeding it spends most of the time at sea, and is therefore rarely seen away from breeding colonies. It nests in large colonies, laying one chalky blue egg in a stick nest, which is incubated by both adults for 44–46 days. The nest is usually placed in a tree or bush, but rarely it may nest on the ground, although, on Ascension Island with a distinct lack of trees it always nests on the ground. It may be three months before the young first fly, and five months before they make any extensive flights. Red-footed booby pairs may remain together over several seasons. They perform elaborate greeting rituals, including harsh squawks and the male displays his blue throat and may also perform short dances.
Size: 3623px × 2416px
Location: Ascension Island, South Atlantic
Photo credit: © Robert Kennett / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: adult, animal, ascension, atlantic, aves, avian, beautiful, bird, birding, birds, birdwatching, booby, brown, color, colorful, colour, colourful, flight, flying, island, morph, natural, nature, ocean, passerine, passerines, red-footed, south, tropical, tropics, wild, wildlife
